Rural Remix

It's 2024 and we're still talking about how to get high-speed internet to the rural people and places that need it. An influx of federal dollars coming from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 may offer a path forward, and a group of Illinois government and business leaders are getting ready to seize the opportunity. As part of the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society's, "Broadband Breakthrough" program, local stakeholders are getting coached up on broadband basics, community outreach, and how to take their best shot when competing for a chunk of the federal funding available for internet infrastructure. Producer's Note: The Benton Institute for Broadband and Society is a contractor for the Center for Rural Strategies, our parent organization. The Rural Remix team operates independently in all editorial decisions.

This is Keep It Rural. Your spot for musings on rural news, exploration of rural culture, and queries about rural life. Today Daily Yonder reporter Claire Carlson discusses how a viral airplane near-disaster made her think about pedestrian safety on rural roads.

With Halloween in the rear view maybe you thought spooky season was over. But the scariest day of the year is yet to come… the horrors of Christmas are almost upon us. It's time for a Rural Horror Holiday Special. Join us for a bonus episode of the Rural Horror Picture Show as we explore this uniquely absurd and terrifying sub-genre of films that represent the darker side of the holiday season. Films discussed include "Krampus" (2015), "Silent Night" (2012), and "To All a Good Night" (1980).

In Rushville, Illinois, Erin Eveland and her team at The HUB - Arts and Cultural Center are carrying out a mission to to bridge the gap between art, culture, and rural communities.In this new episode of Rural Remix, Eveland and Rural Assembly Deputy Director Libby Lane (a Rushville native!) talk about what drives the work, as well as the challenges of funding and the importance of community support in sustaining and growing the organization.Keep listening for the lightning round of questions, where Eveland shares her favorite places, comfort food, superpower, and more. Keep listening for the lightning round of questions, where Eveland shares her favorite places, comfort food, superpower, and more. Rural Remix is a co-production of Rural Assembly and the Daily Yonder. To get updates about future episodes, subscribe at https://www.dailyyonder.com/podcasts/rural-remix/#email-alerts

Was Burkittsville, Maryland ever the same after the "Blair Witch?" What about the Texas town that played host to the "Chainsaw Massacre?" Dawn breaks and we conclude our series with some reflections on the lasting legacy of rural horror. How have the places featured in popular films been affected by their depictions on screen? And what do the tropes and shorthand used by horror filmmakers continue to reveal about the world around us?

No examination of rural horror would be complete without talking about folk horror. Superstitions about witchcraft and the occult hearken back to the country's pastoral, Puritan roots. We dig into the sub-genre and how it uses rural places to illustrate modern tensions between science and the supernatural. Films discussed include "The Children of the Corn" (1984), "The Blair Witch Project" (1999), and the documentary "Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched" (2021).

Sometimes the monster isn’t so literal, and deeper fears take center stage: isolation, grief, disillusionment, despair. In these cases, rural landscapes often play a supporting role. In our third episode, we turn our attention to the fear of isolation — both physical and emotional —and how it’s connected to portrayals of grief in horror movies. Films discussed include “Midsommar” (2019), “The Edge of the Knife” (2018), and “Deliverance” (1972).

Continuing on from our first episode, we zoom in to a specific kind of "urbanoia." Join us for a closer look at a set of iconic movies that made a horror trope out of an over-the-top stereotype, introducing us to an infamous class of villain: the killer hillbilly and his degenerate rural family. As some Appalachians and rural people seek to reclaim power and pride in the word hillbilly, what are we to do with the killbillies? Films discussed include "Deliverance" (1972), "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974), and "The Hills Have Eyes" (1977).

Where do horror movies happen? Small towns, dark forests, cornfields, and farmhouses have each been the locations for iconic scary films. But why are rural settings so popular, and how do these choices affect the areas represented? In the first episode of our 5-part series exploring the often-flawed, but always interesting, depiction of rural people and places in horror movies, we look at urban fears about the country, and rural fears about the city. Which is scarier, and should we take more issue with the tropes, or the inversions of them? Films discussed include "Jennifer's Body" (2009), "Pearl" (2022), "Frankenstein" (1931), and "Tucker & Dale vs. Evil" (2010).

Beginning this month Everywhere Radio becomes Rural Remix. Together with our partners at the Daily Yonder and Center for Rural Strategies, we'll bring you unexpected rural stories that talk back to the stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding rural communities. Up first, just in time for Halloween, is our debut series, the Rural Horror Picture Show, five episodes exploring the depiction of rural people and places in horror films. If you're already a subscriber to Everywhere Radio, you'll seamlessly transition into the world of Rural Remix. When our very first episode drops, you'll find it waiting for you in your podcast feeds. And if you haven't yet joined our community of listeners, now is the perfect time.